The government on Wednesday said it is allowing a group of scholars and writers who are trying to compile a dictionary that can be used by all Koreans to visit North Korea.   The unification ministry said 28 people belonging to the Joint Board of South and North Korea for the Compilation of Gyeoremal-keunsajeon will arrive in Pyongyang on Thursday and return on Nov. 8 after consultation with their North Korean counterparts.   The visit will mark the first time in five years that South Korean mem

The decision to put a dozen American soldiers returning from Liberia into quarantine for Ebola at their base near Venice rather than in the United States sparked controversy in Italy Wednesday.   "They shouldn't have been sent here, they should do their quarantine for Ebola at home," said the president of the region's assembly, Luca Zaia, insisting "it would have been more respectful" of the United States to have "thought about the risks posed to local citizens".   The Messaggero daily spoke of

The U.S. special nuclear envoy Wednesday urged North Korea to halt its nuclear and provocative activities, calling on Pyongyang to pursue "authentic and credible" denuclearization.   Sydney Seiler, Washington's deputy negotiator on North Korea's nuclear issue, listed "representative examples" that the North can show its sincerity toward denuclearization, but he made it clear that the U.S. has no intention to "loosen standards" for the resumption of the long-stalled six-party talks.   "The (nucle

Nongak, traditional Korean music performed by farmers, and North Korean versions of the traditional Korean folk song "Arirang" are most likely to be added to UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list, the government said Wednesday.   The body that deliberates on new additions has categorized South Korea's "Nongak, community band music, dance and rituals" and six North Korean variations of "Arirang" as recommended for inscription, according to the Cultural Heritage Administration.    The final d

North Korea will ban foreign tourists from entering the communist country later this week, two China-based tour operators said Thursday, a move in line with the North's stepped-up efforts to prevent an outbreak of Ebola in the nation.   Young Pioneer Tours, the Xian-based travel agency specializing in tours to North Korea, said in a statement that the North will prohibit foreign tourists from entering the country from Friday due to concerns over the Ebola virus.    "We have just received news fr

The United States government must make a formal apology to secure the freedom of two Americans who remain imprisoned in North Korea after the release this week of Jeffrey Fowle, North Korean legal experts said Thursday.    Although North Korea released Fowle, getting Matthew Miller and Kenneth Bae out of prison will likely require an official statement of apology and formal request for their release from Washington, according to the two North Korean law experts who spoke to The Associated Press.

China on Thursday expressed its opposition to referring North Korea to the International Crime Court over the North's human rights record, undermining the prospects for Pyongyang to face more international pressure over its allegedly dismal human rights situation.   China's foreign ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, made the comments as the U.N. General Assembly's human rights committee is circulating a resolution calling on the U.N. Security Council to refer North Korea to the court.    Asked

Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Takehiko Nakao said Thursday that he does not have a stance on South Korea's interest in joining China's push to set up a regional bank to fund infrastructure projects in Asia, but cautioned that the proposed China-led bank should meet international standards.    Nakao made the comments in response to remarks made on Wednesday by South Korean Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan in Beijing that Seoul is willing to join the China-led Asia Infrastructure Investme

North Korea will close its borders to foreign tourists on Friday due to Ebola fears, travel agencies said, as the number of people that have contracted the deadly virus nears 10,000 in West Africa.   Three travel agencies specialising in North Korean tours, two of them based in China, issued statements Thursday informing clients that the country was closing itself to tourists until further notice because of the threat of the disease.   It was unclear whether the ban also applied to business and

GS E&C, one of South Korea's leading builders, said Thursday it has won a 604.1 billion won (US$572.3 million) order to build a bridge in Kuwait.   The Doha Link bridge project calls for an eight-lane bridge to connect Shwaikh Port with Entertainment City. The bridge will span 12.43 kilometers when finished, with 7.72 km being built over water.   The builder said it had received a letter of agreement in August from authorities in Kuwait, with the formal pact being inked on Wednesday (local time)

The head of South Korea's Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA) was picked Thursday as the new chairman of an international body tasked with sharing of information among leading carmakers around the world.   Kim Yong-geun was named to head the Paris-based International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers, better known by its French acronym OICA, at the group's latest roundtable general assembly underway in Seoul.   He is the first South Korean national to take the post and wi

Chinese actress Tang Wei poses at a press conference of the film, “The Golden Era,” in Busan during the 2014 BIFF on Friday. (Yonhap)BUSAN -- Chinese actress Tang Wei, in her visit to the 19th annual Busan International Film Festival, shared her thoughts and experiences on her role as Chinese literary icon, Xiao Hong, in director Ann Hui’s latest film, “The Golden Era.”　The Chinese – Hong Kong film is a biopic of legendary Chinese writer Xiao (real name Zhang Naiying), who lived through a period

　A Saudi Arabian cheering squad, including S-OIL employees, roots for Fahhad Mohammed Alsubaie of Saudi Arabia in the final of the men‘s 200-meter race at the Incheon Asian Games held in the Incheon Asiad Main Stadium on Oct. 1. (S-OIL)About 100 Saudi Arabians living in Korea, Korean citizens and S-OIL employees rooted for a Saudi Arabian athlete in the final of the men's 200-meter race at the Incheon Asian Games held in the Incheon Asiad Main Stadium on Oct.1.  Fahhad Mohammed Alsubaie of Saudi

Medical staff move a soldier posing as the sergeant who was captured after a shooting spree on June 22 to an emergency center at a hospital in Gangneung, Gangwon Province. (Yonhap)The Army said Friday it has punished two former top commanders over two major incidents that are both blamed on a deep-rooted culture of abuse and bullying in barracks.It said it cut the wages of a major general for one month, holding him responsible for a shooting rampage near the border with North Korea that killed f

　When 2PM made its debut in 2008 with the single, “10 Points Out of 10 Points,” the idol group captured the hearts of many K-pop fans with the members’ masculine, beast-like image. 　However, back then, the seven-member-turned-six-member boy band was not much more than an idol group that performed songs mainly composed by its agency’s CEO and producer Park Jin-young of JYP Entertainment.　Now after more than seven years in the game, the members’ vast experiences as long-time K-pop singers have led

South Korea asked its people staying in southern Turkey near the border with Syria to leave the area, an official said Friday, the latest in a series of warnings amid a worsening security situation.   The foreign ministry recommended South Koreans who are staying within 10 kilometers of the border with Syria to immediately leave for safe areas, according to the ministry official.   The move comes as the security situation is worsening in border areas due to the U.S-led airstrikes against Islamic

British Prime Minister David Cameron arrived in Kabul Friday on an unannounced visit, becoming the first world leader to hold talks with newly-inaugurated President Ashraf Ghani, officials said.   Ghani was inaugurated on Monday to lead Afghanistan as most NATO troops leave the country by December after 13 years of fighting the Islamist insurgency that erupted after the Taliban regime was ousted in 2001.   Ghani was elected in a fraud-tainted election in June that plunged Afghanistan into months

Lee Kun-hee, the de facto head of Samsung Group who has been hospitalized since May after suffering a heart attack, might be transferred to his house for further medical treatment, group sources said Friday, amid media reports that his condition is improving.    In preparation for home medical treatment, the sources said that Samsung Group is building an elevator inside Lee's house located in central Seoul.    "It is right that we are building an elevator in case of his release from the hospital

Senior U.S. government officials handling Korean affairs are to visit Seoul this weekend for meetings with their counterparts on ways to strengthen the alliance between the two countries and to discuss other pending issues, officials said Thursday.   Assistant Deputy Secretary of Defense David Shear said he and Assistant Deputy Secretary of State Daniel Russel will make a joint trip to Seoul to talk about ways to further bolster the traditional alliance between the two countries.   "I look forwa

A man whose body was found in the Philippines in July has been positively identified as South Korean, a South Korean official said Friday.   The official in the South Korean Embassy in the Philippines said the embassy has received confirmation from South Korean police that fingerprints of the body belonged to a South Korean man.   The official identified the victim only by his family name Lee aged 45.   Lee's body was found with a gunshot wound in his neck in Malabon, a northern suburb of Manila